The Obama Jacket

I meant to write about this over a month ago but I'm only remembering to do it now. It's interesting so still worth writing about!

When I spotted this ad in Times Square early in January it struck me that something was a little off... Obama looked quite relaxed and casual so it didn't seem like the government had erected this billboard. Closer inspection revealed this billboard was actually an advertisement for a clothing company!

Located at the corner of 41st and 7th Ave in the centre of Times Square this billboard created it's fair share of controversy. The billboard showed a picture of President Obama at the Great Wall during his November 2009 visit to China. He appears to be wearing a Weatherproof jacket, which the company called the 'Obama jacket'.

When this advertisement went up over the door of Red Lobster on January 6th it instantly attracted attention. The main question being: can a company really use the President for advertising purposes? That question doesn't have a definitive answer it seems. The White House commented there is 'a longstanding policy disapproving of the use of the president’s name and likeness for commercial purposes'.

Still the Weatherproof dragged their feet on the matter for a few days, presuming to lap up the ensuing publicity the affair was creating. The New York Times reported Weatherproof President Freddie Stollmack as saying 'not being an attorney — I’m being, really, a designer, merchandiser guy in the apparel business — I would leave that to the attorneys or whatever. We’re not saying President Obama endorses Weatherproof apparel'.

Discussions held the following week resulted in the company agreeing to take the billboard down, as a goodwill gesture to The White House.

However, the ad proved it's worth even in one week and Weatherproof got even more than they'd hoped for. And really it's a publicity stunt even audacious Micheal O'Leary would be proud of.